Closed? No, Boise. These 10 new restaurants have opened since December.

Rocked by the pandemic, dozens of Treasure Valley restaurants closed in the past 10 months. Worse yet, the pace seemed to quicken around the new year, when staples such as El Gallo Giro in downtown Boise and Bier:Thirty in southeast Boise said goodbye.

But to counter the bad news, good restaurant news keeps arriving. A diverse menu of newcomers welcomed 2021 by rolling out the red carpet.

Hungry for something different? Eager to support a fledgling business — local or franchise? Here are 10 new restaurants opened since December:

▪ Two Boise brothers fulfilled a dream and launched 3 Wood Pizza & Pub, 10497 W. Lake Hazel Road, in southwest Boise. The neighborhood hangout serves a New York-style pizza that’s all about the crust and sauce. Try the Classic Margherita ($9.99), “which shows off everything,” co-owner Carlos Duncan says. “The margherita is perfect. It shows off our style. We don’t load it up with shredded cheese. We actually do a sliced cheese and let it marry with the sauce on the pizza in the oven. Less is more. Simplicity. It’s just simple perfection.”

▪ Paddles Up Poke added a new store Jan. 8 at 3690 E. Monarch Sky Lane at The Village at Meridian. It’s the fifth Paddles Up location in Idaho for the local chain, which has expanded rapidly since unveiling its first downtown Boise restaurant in 2017. Poke (pronounced poh-KAY) is marinated raw fish served on rice and jazzed up with veggies and sauces. The bowls are customizable, and service is quick. Paddles Up also sells sushi burritos.

▪ Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers opened a 3,400-square-foot franchise location at 2143 S. Broadway Ave. in Boise. It seats 86 customers and has more seating on a patio. The Wichita, Kansas-based chain also operates stores in Eagle, Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell.

▪ Iconic Boise diner The Capri took its show to Meridian. It opened a second location at 1407 W. McMillan Road. The 3,700-square-foot building also will be home to a new Delsa’s Ice Cream Parlour in March. The Capri in Meridian serves home-style breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Try the biscuits and gravy ($6.45 small, $9.45 large), with fresh-baked biscuits and housemade sausage gravy. When Delsa’s joins the operation, it will take over at 3 p.m. each day, serving ice cream and dinner into the evenings.

▪ Union Block Bar & Eatery opened with takeout and delivery in part of the former Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom space at 730 W. Idaho St. Indoor dining is expected to launch within days, depending on the timing of its occupancy permit. A sister restaurant to Mai Thai next door, this newcomer offers “New American cuisine with a twist.” That means pastas and flatbreads, sandwiches and hamburgers, salads and shareable plates — with arms extended to carnivores, vegetarians, vegans and the gluten-free crowd. “From pasta to burgers to flatbreads, you can make it vegan!” the restaurant promises.

▪ Northwest seafood chain Anthony’s, 959 W. Front St., made its “sneak peek” in December with takeout, then added seated dining Jan. 26. Dinner is available from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Reservations are recommended. Call (208) 202-2468 or go online to anthonys.com. Validated parking is in the J.R. Simplot Company entrance off 11th Street.

▪ It didn’t take long for the closed Thomas Hammer Coffee shop at 298 N. 8th St. to find a new tenant. Cupbop has replaced it. The Utah-based chain adds something different and fast-casual to downtown Boise’s “restaurant row” on 8th Street. Cupbop serves “Korean BBQ in a cup.” Most bowls cost around $8, and the modest-sized menu makes for quick, customizable orders. Seated dining is available, but Cupbop’s steaming noodles are well-suited for takeout. Curbside service is available. Third-party delivery also is available through Doordash.

▪ Sometimes, beer is the best food. But Garden City newcomer Twisted District Brew Co., 3840 W. Chinden Blvd., also serves actual “speed-scratch” cuisine. The Twisted District menu specializes in gourmet hot dogs ($6.95-$11.95 served with chips, or with a side salad for an extra $1.95). Love game meat? Bite into an elk jalapeno-and-cheddar sausage served with mango habanero relish. Or go full-on carnivore with a 1/3-pound barbecue brisket sandwich with horseradish cheddar and house slaw ($15.95). The menu also offers soups and salads, including vegetarian options.

▪ New delivery-and-takeout options keep popping up at Crave Delivery, the growing kitchen collective serving Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Caldwell, Kuna and Star. Mac ’n Cue, a barbecue and macaroni-and-cheese venture, opened Dec. 14. It’s a collaboration between award-winning chef and restaurateur Michael Mina and TV cooking star Ayesha Curry.

In January, Mina collaborated with James Beard Award-winning chef Hugo Ortega to open Mi Almita. The menu features “interior Mexican food,” Ortega says, focusing on the country’s southern states. “What I tried to do is bold flavors,” Ortega told the Idaho Statesman. “Develop flavors through roasting and charring of the ingredients. And incorporate some of the iconic peppers from Mexico,” along with “lots of garlic — tons of garlic and white onion.”

To order from Crave Delivery, you need the app.

This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 4:00 AM.